Dead Of Summer - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Dead of Summer here!

[Writing Wrongs]

I'll be watching for Elizabeth Mitchell. Premiere date June 28th.

 

Freeform released the title of “Dead of Summer” first episode. It’s called “Like A Prayer”.

Here's the Dead of Summer news Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeadofSummerNU?lang=en 

 

Lots of pics from the Free Form Upfronts.

[AmandaPanda]

I'm also really excited for Mark Indelicato. I loved him on Ugly Betty. Really, I'm just hoping this will be a fun, campy (pun not intended) horror show.

[Writing Wrongs]

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5tMJZNeT3g

[Curio]

I was able to watch the premiere of this at the ATX Television Festival last weekend. I won't spoil anybody here, but I wasn't terribly impressed with the pilot. I'll give it a few more episodes to see if it finds its footing, but much like Horowitz & Kitsis's other show Once Upon A Time, it seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. It wants to be taken seriously as a genuinely scary horror show, but it also wants to be campy like a John Hughes film. I know it took Supernatural some time to balance out its comedy and horror too, but it probably wasn't a good sign that the theater for Dead of Summer was dead quiet after the premiere ended. There wasn't even much clapping or excited chit chat about what had just happened, and it was especially awkward when the actors and producers walked in and the theater was eerily silent as they took their seats on stage.

For as little screen time as they had, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mark Indelicato were the standouts in the cast for me.

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Deb Carpenter pours her heart and soul into reopening the summer camp she loved as a child; new counselor Amy suspects something is not quite right at idyllic Camp Stillwater

[xander874]

This was average. It definitely had a lot of horror tropes but didn't execute them very well. The crazy person screaming "You're doomed!" Is so cliche and there was nothing original about it. 

I wonder if this will actually be supernatural stuff or someone playing mind games. I hope we see more Tony Todd. 

And while I feel they got the 1989 vibe mostly right, they really messed up with the underwear. Boxer briefs (brightly colored ones at that) weren't even a thing then. It was boxers or briefs then. 

[Writing Wrongs]

Terrible. Elizabeth Mitchell might not be enough to keep me watching this crap.

[Chaos Theory]

I thought it was ok for a pilot then again I watched it a bit in fast forward.  I will try it again in real speed when I a get more time.  It has promise considering its a Freeform show.  I like horror and this looks decent.  It was pilot and pilots are often iffy at best.     Honestly.....I think I may give it a few more episodes.  It has potential.  

[Curio]

Horowitz and Kitsis might spontaneously combust if they're ever forced to write a show that doesn't include gratuitous use of flashbacks.

The characters are wooden and the dialogue is cheesy and sometimes cringeworthy. I don't even know if I can hate-watch this show because I'm so apathetic about what happens to the characters. Also, did the kids seriously go swimming in the exact same spot a guy just died a few hours earlier?

[KaveDweller]

I liked it okay for a summer show. But the ghostly visions will get old pretty fast if they don't have more stuff actually be happening in the present.

I couldn't really tell any of the male characters apart though. Even the two female counselors were blending together for me.

[maryle]

I watched and I was mostly ok with it. 

Nothing really new but I was not expecting it.

I am sure there something creepy in the box Deborah recover. I am afread they will use too much flashback. The acting was not particular stellar from anybody. I do not if I am suppose to ship for Emmy and the deputy or the cute counsellor but I didn't. They are both average pairing for a average show where each young counsellor are very cliché.

[KingOfHearts]

3 hours ago, Curio said:

Horowitz and Kitsis might spontaneously combust if they're ever forced to write a show that doesn't include gratuitous use of flashbacks.

The characters are wooden and the dialogue is cheesy and sometimes cringeworthy. I don't even know if I can hate-watch this show because I'm so apathetic about what happens to the characters. Also, did the kids seriously go swimming in the exact same spot a guy just died a few hours earlier?

A&E's fingerprints were all over this crap. The dialogue was so stilted it should have been spoken by the fairy tale characters on Once Upon a Time. The flashbacks were sooo unnecessary and anticlimactic. I couldn't give two flips about a mean girl randomly falling off a roof for being stupid. Amy is a boring, two-dimensional character whose only trait is "awkward". It annoyed me how much it kept flipping between angsty teen drama and what some may affectionately call horror.

This pilot suffered from the typical A&E problems. It wants to be serious and campy at the same time, but fails in both respects. I may keep watching to fill in the hiatus for Once Upon a Time, but if this what they're starting with, I don't expect much from the rest of it.

[TDT]

I wonder if it will be revealed in the season finale that the mother of whomever it was died there a long time ago is the one who is doing the killings..

[portfino]

The flashbacks are terrible and randomly inserted. Amy's not an interesting protagonist. I don't care about various love triangles or the secrets involving the other counselors.

[Curio]

Here's the place to discuss media and news related to Dead of Summer.

The Metacritic score right now isn't good: 38. Can't say I disagree much with the critics...

Edited June 30, 2016 by Curio

[LakeGal]

It was not exactly what I was expecting.  I really didn't like all the flashbacks.  A few to give us the story is okay.  But they used it way too often when it wasn't needed. 

We had the usual stupid actions of the campers at night.  They wander around in the dark.  They jump in the lake where they just found a body.  Really?

I will keep watching for now.  But I hope it improves.

[Cornhusker12]

No idea if this will be worth watching all season, but we need to start a running tally of how many Definitely Not 1980s things we can find.

1. As someone already mentioned, the underwear
2. The video camera - They didn't have handheld cameras with the flipout screen by that time did they??
3. Other than the preppy kid, the clothing in general seemed more like 2016 kids time traveled back to the 80s.

Post any others you noticed!

[Suzysite]

Where to begin...the dialog was cheesy and not very 1989.   Some of the expressions had me eye-rolling pretty hard.  Brah?   Don't think so.  The openly gay kid wouldn't happen.  Not like that.  The clothes were ridiculous.  Day-glo and beach waves came much, much later. Preppy turned-up collars were early 80's.  Jordache jeans were big in the late 70's. Why bother setting it in 1989 if so many things are not done right?   This show should be mindless summer fun, but the cheesiness and inaccuracies ruin it. 

[Curio]

4 hours ago, huskerj12 said:

No idea if this will be worth watching all season, but we need to start a running tally of how many Definitely Not 1980s things we can find.

How about Definitely Not 1989 Wisconsin?

1. Wisconsin doesn't have mountains. (There are bluffs and rolling hills, but not Vancouver-esque rock formations.)
2. Summer camp in the middle of rural Wisconsin would not have that much diversity.
3. Summer camp in the middle of rural Wisconsin would not have so many hot young adults as the counselors.
4. Too much weed, not enough beer.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Curio

[TattleTeeny]

15 hours ago, Suzysite said:

Where to begin...the dialog was cheesy and not very 1989.   Some of the expressions had me eye-rolling pretty hard.  Brah?   Don't think so.  The openly gay kid wouldn't happen.  Not like that.  The clothes were ridiculous.  Day-glo and beach waves came much, much later. Preppy turned-up collars were early 80's.  Jordache jeans were big in the late 70's. Why bother setting it in 1989 if so many things are not done right?   This show should be mindless summer fun, but the cheesiness and inaccuracies ruin it. 

I don't know about "brah" (ugh) but I graduated high school in 1989 and most of this sartorial stuff is not all that inaccurate. For one thing, day-glo/beachy clothes had come and gone by then (by the time I was a sophomore, I think--though beachy stuff remained for actually being at the beach, obviously). Also, the popped collar was still very much a thing (haha, I could go to Facebook right now and probably grab multiple old photos posted by my male friends). I agree that the original incarnate of Jordache jeans (super-dark straight-leg with bright contrasting thread) was long gone, but not as early as the late '70s; we still had them when I was in middle school in the mid-'80s. And the brand itself did (does?) still exist in the form of other jeans styles. 

And even in the small North Jersey town where I was, we indeed had an openly gay guy in our class.

Can anyone tell me why exactly the mean popular girl decided to be friends with Amy after all? Did I miss something?

Edited June 30, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Mabinogia]

37 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Can anyone tell me why exactly the mean popular girl decided to be friends with Amy after all? Did I miss something?

That one made no sense to me. When she walked up to her in the café to set up a study date I thought it was going to be for some kind of hazing and next thing you know they are BFFs. I'm guessing Amy's sweet naivety is supposed to be irresistible and popular girl was so impressed by her lack of intimidation?

I was really confused as to why we kept flashing back to the school stuff. Was it really just for the "pay off" that Amy is freaked out by hands grabbing at her because she let her friend slip? They could have gotten to that point with a lot less to do. I'm guessing maybe popular girl is going to haunt her at the camp. Maybe the camp is a place where everyone is haunted by someone they killed or let die accidentally. Maybe we will get a backstory of the week for each counselors. Are the actual campers going to show up or is the whole show going to take place during the day day and a half the councelors are setting up?

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

That one made no sense to me. When she walked up to her in the café to set up a study date I thought it was going to be for some kind of hazing and next thing you know they are BFFs. I'm guessing Amy's sweet naivety is supposed to be irresistible and popular girl was so impressed by her lack of intimidation?

That's what I wondered too, but if the popular girl was won over, why didn't we at least see it happen even a little? I don't recall even a subtle thoughtful face or anything like that! Why would I believe that Amy's refusal to give some mean note to the nerd chick would result in anything but more ire from the cool girls? The next thing we know, they're sharing clothes and tee-heeing over booze parties...and, you know, falling out of windows (which was also really weird; it seemed like a wildly overblown reaction to the cops, even for a high-school kid. I'm assuming that there's more to the strict mom than we know so far?).

Edited June 30, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Curio]

20 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

That's what I wondered too, but if the popular girl was won over, why didn't we at least see it happen even a little?

Welcome to the land of Adam Horowitz & Edward Kitsis. (Lovingly called A&E over in the Once Upon a Time forums.) Get used to a lot of important character development scenes happening off screen, nonsensical relationships forming with no proper buildup, and barely any emotional payoffs.

[TattleTeeny]

Ahhhhhhhh, bah! Feh! I actually gave up on OUaT a while back--just all of a sudden, I was like, "No, I just can't anymore." And I am usually a loyal-to-the-bitter-end show-watcher (except for One Tree Hill because WTF, why did it go on for so long? And more recently Under the Dome because it sucked).

Edited June 30, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[mntnsrck79]

Maybe it's because I don't watch OUAT so I don't have the same pre-existing hatred towards the creators like everyone else here seems to, but I kind of enjoyed the pilot. It was fairly predictable and not exactly Emmy winning quality, but it at least met (and possibly surpassed) my expectations for a show on this channel. I mean really any show set in the 1980s, featuring a summer camp, starring Elizabeth Mitchell, and with some element of mystery is right up my alley. I liked this better than the pilot of Guilt or the current season of Pretty Little Liars.

I'm not sure what to expect from the central mystery, like I can't tell if this is 100% supernatural, or if there's going to be some more realistic explanation for at least part of it. I expect our central character Amy (who is totally dull- I agree with everyone on that) to have some historical connection to whatever it is, and I'm somewhat curious about whatever family drama she briefly alluded to. Elizabeth Mitchell's character seems totally shady, so that could be interesting.

I just hope it doesn't end up cancelled before they reveal anything good.

[NorthstarATL]

17 hours ago, Curio said:

How about Definitely Not 1989 Wisconsin?

1. Wisconsin doesn't have mountains. (There are bluffs and rolling hills, but not Vancouver-esque rock formations.)
2. Summer camp in the middle of rural Wisconsin would not have that much diversity.
3. Summer camp in the middle of rural Wisconsin would not have so many hot young adults as the counselors.
4. Too much weed, not enough beer.

Were collagen lips a "thing" back then, because "Deb" definitely poured some of her savings into those that could have improved the camp! The kids I went to camp with in Minnesota and Wisconsin (Only one summer there), and ESPECIALLY the counselors, were way hotter than these kids!

This wasn't even really fun, but I was surprised that the lab partner became Amy's friend so quickly. I envisioned the overweight friend being the target of the other girls' "Carrieing" and then committing suicide, with the blame taken on by Amy, Amy in an institution, and then summer camp, which would explain her weirdness. Saw the "Braces" reveal coming a mile away. Also, the Ally Sheedy girl.  So is this going to be serial killer, supernatural, or both?

[FairyPrincess]

I wasn't even sure that I was going to watch this until in the first five minutes they gave me CandyMan, "Summer of '89" and Janet Jackson, all of which determined that I'm too old for this show and at the same time sealed the deal that I would be in for the season... Lol

[KaveDweller]

6 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

That's what I wondered too, but if the popular girl was won over, why didn't we at least see it happen even a little? I don't recall even a subtle thoughtful face or anything like that! Why would I believe that Amy's refusal to give some mean note to the nerd chick would result in anything but more ire from the cool girls? The next thing we know, they're sharing clothes and tee-heeing over booze parties...and, you know, falling out of windows (which was also really weird; it seemed like a wildly overblown reaction to the cops, even for a high-school kid. I'm assuming that there's more to the strict mom than we know so far?).

I thought it was weird too, but maybe were supposed to think popular girl secretly hated her BFF's mean girl thing.

And was it me, or did Amy and the other girl seem like more than friends?

[Suzysite]

Quote

I agree that the original incarnate of Jordache jeans (super-dark straight-leg with bright contrasting thread) was long gone, but not as early as the late '70s

Oh no, it was definitely late 70s.  I had a pair in 1979.  Showing my age a bit, but it was the post-disco era.

1979 commercial for Jordache jeans

Edited July 1, 2016 by Suzysite

[joelene]

I am so sick is this protagonist stereotype. Pretty Bland White Girl Sweet and Haunted. It's been 268 years of this girl. For the love of horror give us something else!

If there hadn't been a card telling us the year I'd have no clue this was taking place in the 80's. Sleepaway Camp fashion this ain't. For shame!

[maryle]

I think I want to know about Deborah and her box the most. The young counsellor need to be less wooden and cliché before I care which one could be Kill first.  She  ( Deb) dosen't seem to care much about camera's guy filming her or all the weird stuff that happened just before the opening of a summer camp for young. So, there that to watch!

I do not hate A and E. as showrunner as much as other do. But, flashback will probably be overuse to explain character "suppose " development like the  bff thing betweem Emy and the killed popular girl. The real problem with the instant friendship ( and with all the premiere, problem we saw on Once too) was they wanted show so much with so little time that all aspect suffert a bit.

The importance part should have been installing a creepy and weird atmosphere for that the first murder should have been enough. But they overdo all the creepy stuff so the murder was like business as usual at the camp. Little is often better in this case.

[TattleTeeny]

12 hours ago, Suzysite said:

Oh no, it was definitely late 70s.  I had a pair in 1979.  Showing my age a bit, but it was the post-disco era.

1979 commercial for Jordache jeans

Yes, OK...but I didn't say that they were not around in the late '70s. What I said in the part of my comment that you quoted was that the brand was still around in the mid-'80s, meaning that the Jordache reference in this show was not anachronistic. 

Edited July 1, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Mabinogia]

I was in high school in the late 80s and Jordache was certainly still a thing. Turns out that they were around longer than I thought. I didn't know they were big in the late 70s too. At least I'm learning something from this show. lol

[TattleTeeny]

Not too long ago, I actually saw the Cavaricci brand in a store! It had been updated to look like a current style, but it was Cavaricci nonetheless!

[jewel21]

I found the pilot confusing and disjointed. Things just seemed to happen with no warning. That cabin going up in flames seemed to come out of nowhere. And it burned so quickly, it was ridiculous.

The scene where Amy was about to kiss prep boy and then started freaking out, moving backward and wound up surrounded by clothing was weird, too.

Then she's freaking out again with the deputy and winds up by the pier. It just seemed so weird, and everyone is acting like she's normal. I would have been thinking she has psychotic tendencies.

And, then seconds after her freakout, she's laughing and jumping in the water where a dead body was decomposing just a day before. Eww. And again, not normal behavior.

[Mabinogia]

47 minutes ago, jewel21 said:

That cabin going up in flames seemed to come out of nowhere. And it burned so quickly, it was ridiculous.

Not to mention all the many, flammable trees all around it which miraculously did not catch fire. That was some impressive fire control.

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Alex and Blotter become concerned when a strange new camper, Anton, wanders off into the woods and begins talking about ``the Tall Man''; flashbacks reveal how Alex developed his assertive attitude.

[Curio]

2 hours ago, jewel21 said:

And, then seconds after her freakout, she's laughing and jumping in the water where a dead body was decomposing just a day before. Eww. And again, not normal behavior.

Shouldn't the lake have been closed for a few days after a dead body was found in it?

[Writing Wrongs]

I already watched this episode and all I'll say is: It was alot better than the pilot. I will keep watching.

[Writing Wrongs]

Her constant freakouts were getting annoying. And the guy with the camera permanently attached to his hand is ridiculous.

I graduated high school in 1986. It's been so long, I tend to blend decades together. Did people say "sick" back then? 

I'm really not looking forward to Deb getting with camera guy. You know that's where it's heading.

[TattleTeeny]

I feel like  "sick" was a thing then where I'm from--but perhaps more among the skater dudes--ooh, I did love those skater dudes, man...skater dudes...

Oops, where did I go for a second? Sorry, back now! (But, yes, skater dudes, haha!)

 

[wayne67]

The flashbacks are going to drive me bloody bonkers. 

The horrible horror cliches are rampant. I'll watch another episode before deciding whether to continue. I'm currently indifferent to these characters. 

[Court]

Until I read this, I had zero idea it was set in the 80's.

[maryle]

Still cliché but loved much more than the premiere. They are able to instal a horror kinda atmosphere. The flashback was better and the acting les wooden. I will watch the next. So, not to bad at all.

[Accidental Martyr]

How much did they spend for the music rights? It had a couple of good songs:

R.E.M. - "Pop Song 89"

The Cure - "Lullaby"

[candall]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 8:28 AM, TattleTeeny said:

Can anyone tell me why exactly the mean popular girl decided to be friends with Amy after all? Did I miss something?

Okay, wow, I am WAY in the minority here--I liked it a lot.  I too thought we were going to spend forever going through the machinations of tormenting Chub Girl before New Girl relocated her moral center, but nope!  Mean Girl surprised me by being smart enough to admire New Girl's moxie and integrity more than she admired her Bitchy Bestie.  And the way she conveyed her approval was in keeping with her natural cool cat demeanor, so boom, we're there with minimal fuss.  (Finding Carter would have stretched that development over three episodes, so thanks, A&E or whomever you are.)

 

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 1:32 PM, jewel21 said:

The scene where Amy was about to kiss prep boy and then started freaking out, moving backward and wound up surrounded by clothing was weird, too.

My main complaint is that the details are a bit fuzzy on my non-hi-def tv and my non-hi-def eyes.  There was a little behind-the-scenes clip after the credits where someone explained that the clothes on the racks became filled with the same actors who played the floating dead bodies in the prologue.  They were grabbing at her and she's still sensitive about the handsy thing because of losing her grip on ex-Mean Girl.  Okay then, got it.

 

See?  We're moving along at a nice clip, which I appreciate.  Teens aren't my favorite show base, but I like spooky and so far, the criteria is being met.  I think New Girl has some powers--she seemed alerted to the danger before the cabin burst into flames and . . . did she teleport outside?  I got the impression there was some supernatural foreshadowing in the glass beaker breaking, too, but again, fuzzy.  At any rate, her mother seems pretty fatalistic about Amy's socialization process.  For the love of God, just TRY to fit in!

 

The stereotypes aren't toooooo bad.  Mysterious double agent Deputy Camper/Townie, mysterious Elizabeth Mitchell, Amy's mysterious co-newb.  Hot Girl with the bitter boulder on her shoulder.  Central casting upper-class prat snipping the tags off his clothes?  Could be something interesting going on there.

And of course, Tony Todd.  Candygram!

[Accidental Martyr]

Damon Crowley?

A few more good tunes:

The Cult-"She Sells Sanctuary"

10,000 Maniacs-"Trouble Me"

The Replacements-"Within Your Reach" (They reached pretty deep for that one.)

[Suzysite]

Quote

Damon Crowley?

I guess Lucifer P. Manson or Beelzebub Dahmer would have been over the top.    SMH.  This show is just weak.  A Scooby Gang mystery would be more intriguing.

 

I took it off my season recording list.  Awful.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Suzysite

[Accidental Martyr]

Why was that guy drinking from a baby bottle?